FATE is the penultimate chapter in the six-part BIT.TRIP series and will leave you wondering what’s next.Key Features: The arrow keys control CommanderVideo while the mouse allows you to fire anywhere on screen! Or if you prefer, plug in a controller for dual-stick shooting action!

BIT.TRIP FATE is a pixel rhythm game loosely based off of old-school sidescrolling shooters, in which the player is on a literal rail as the screen scrolls to the right, and is responsible for shooting the enemies before being shot. It is the fifth game in the BIT.TRIP series, and pretty readily the easiest of them all.

Like other BIT.TRIP games, as you string together a number of successful hits without a miss, the game will move to a "higher" mode which has more graphic effects, and as you miss enough without getting an appropriate number of successes, you will move to a "lower" mode, which has fewer. FATE continues the pattern of adding a new mode with each successive game, adding GIGA. In addition to the modes, there is a series of powerups which the player can pick up which will modify their weapon in one of four ways. Additionally, the power-up, when combined with GIGA mode, gets extremely powerful.

Honestly, compared to other BIT.TRIP games, the music has less impact, as it's ultimately up to the player when to take care of enemies instead of being sequenced to the music. It consists of mostly easy levels with more difficult bosses, but it never strays into the "I'm not sure if this is unfair" territory that other BIT.TRIP games can sometimes reach. For someone curious what BIT.TRIP games are all about, this might not be a bad place to start, given it will be more forgiving for new players.

Bit.Trip Fate is a 2D reincarnation of Rez. It's on-rails and you shoot enemies and objects to let them produce sounds, while collecting power-ups to keep yourself alive long enough to survive the boss fights. The worlds and main character aren't as detailed though, and Rez is still the better game between the two (play it if you ever get the chance!), but I'll be honest, Fate is not bad either. It's simple in its presentation, like all the other Bit.Trip games (ok, maybe not Runner 2) and they're never expensive. But, except for Runner 1 and 2, the games never manage to capture my attention long enough. I usually get bored of them within less than 2 hours.

That, and the fact that there are no checkpoints make it difficult to recommend this game. Sure, it's challenging, but it's too unbalanced. if you die during a level you have to replay the entire level all over again. It can be frustrating because you can usually make it to the boss fights without getting hit (too much).

Yup, the boss fights are tough. 'Aren't boss fights supposed to be tough ? And doesn't practice make perfect ?' Well, yes, but only if it's fun to play in the first place. Fate just isn't fun enough.

Bit.Trip Fate is somewhat different in terms of incorporating music than other titles in the series, but is still a fun game to play. This game is a literal rail shooter as players control Commander Video and shoot enemies. There are some musical elements when firing at enemies, but this is not a rhythm game. Also, enemies fire in patterns reminescent to bullet hell games, making this game a mix of these three genres of games.Graphically, this is similar fare to other Bit.Trip games, but has a design similar to Runner with mostly 3d objects. The backgrounds are somewhat trippy, yet have enough detail to stand out as three unique locations that are traversed in the game. The story continues from Runner as well, with Commander Video and his buddies teaming up to destroy Mingrawn Timbletot. Overall, the story is darker as well with the Commander wanting to fight the enemies with anger as shown in some of the cutscenes. Dubstep style music adds to this dark feeling while playing the game, and the music does sound great as well while not being as dynamic in other games. Music cues are made when destroying an enemy, but they are not in sync with the background music as in other games.Essentially, the gameplay is a literal rail shooter with bullet hell and musical elements. Players control the Commander in a set line path, only being able to move left and right along this path. Like in other Bit.Trip games, the player can increase or lose rank, and this powers up or down Commander Video. The game is lost if Commander Video is in Nether mode and gets hit. Powerups are in the stages, each with varying effects. Enemies shoot bullets and occasionally lasers, some of which have their own kind of pattern to dodge. The meat of the difficulty lies with the bosses at the end of each level. Usually, these guys start out with hard patterns at first, then tend to get easier with the next parts of the boss. Most of my deaths were up in the boss areas, although the levels tend to be easy when repeating them.This game can easy or hard depending on those who played bullet hell games before. Many enemies will fire a lot of bullets, so it will take some replaying to follow the pattern and dodge the bullets. For me, the first half of the game was pretty easy, but the second half give me a bit of a challenge. It is definitely shorter than Runner with a total of 6 levels that are each around 10 minutes.Bit.Trip Fate doesn't have strong rhythm elements in the game. However, it is good in making a different kind of shoot em up game that plays great and has some of the style of the series with its art and music. In essence, this game follows some of the same art and music style, but breaks away from being mainly a rhythm game to deliver a shooter game that delivers its unique and engaging gameplay well.

Never content to repeat the same thing, Bit.Trip once again reinvents itself in Fate, an on rails bullet-hell shooter that feels right at home along with its equally offbeat predecessors. As Commander Video you guided through six levels by a roller-coaster like line, destroying enemies on all sides and attempting to make it to the boss at the end in one piece. As you land shots and collect pickups from you fallen adversaries you level up, which acts as both a health and upgrade system. With each new level your gun becomes more powerful but with each hit you take you lose a level, ultimately leading to a game over screen.

The basic design of Fate is top notch with an original gameplay mechanic, creative bullet patterns, and great boss battles all covered with a thick coating of Bit.Trip paint. Where it falters is in making enemies satisfying to defeat, as bullets never seem to physically connect despite registering as a hit and causing enemies to disappear in an anticlimactic manner that feels like popping a stubborn balloon. Levels also feel a bit long in the tooth topping off at about 10-15 minutes a piece, which seems to drag on longer than I would have liked and makes it somewhat less ideal for quick play sessions.

Despite not making the same impact as something like Bit.Trip Runner, Fate is still an enjoyable experience that does something new and interesting with the bullet-hell genre that I would like to see replicated in other games. The art and music follow the trademarks of the series while going in a darker more subdued direction, and multiple difficulties give a reason to go back after completing it the first time (which will likely take you between 1-2 hours depending on your skill level).

Even if not everything works just right I still applaud Gaijin Games for continually branching out and trying something new, and am once again impressed at how much does work with Bit.Trip Fate despite the radical difference in gameplay it presents. For fans of the series its worth trying just to see how remarkably dynamic the team behind it is.